The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world, with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty.

Membership within the United Nations system divides the 206 listed states into three categories: 193 member states,[1] 2 observer states, and 11 other states. The sovereignty dispute column indicates states whose sovereignty is undisputed (191 states) and states whose sovereignty is disputed (15 states, out of which there are 5 member states, 1 observer state and 9 other states).

Compiling a list such as this can be a difficult and controversial process, as there is no definition that is binding on all the members of the community of nations concerning the criteria for statehood. For more information on the criteria used to determine the contents of this list, please see the criteria for inclusion section below. The list is intended to include entities that have been recognized to have de facto status as sovereign states, and inclusion should not be seen as an endorsement of any specific claim to statehood in legal terms.

The continental territory of Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland form the three constituent countries of the Kingdom. The designation "Denmark" can refer either to continental Denmark or to the short name for the entire Kingdom (e.g. in international organizations). The Kingdom of Denmark as a whole is a member of the EU, but EU law does not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland.[15][16] Also see Greenland Treaty.

Member of the EU.[c]Mount Athos is an autonomous part of Greece that is jointly governed by the multinational "Holy Community" on the mountain and a civil governor appointed by the Greek government.[20]

The continental part of the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten form the four constituent countries of the Kingdom. Three other territories (Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius) are special municipalities of the continental Netherlands.

The designation "Netherlands" can refer either to the continental Netherlands or to the short name for the entire Kingdom (e.g. in international organizations). The Kingdom of the Netherlands as a whole is a member of the EU, but EU law applies only to parts within Europe.

Azad Kashmir describes itself as a "self-governing state under Pakistani control", while Gilgit-Baltistan is described in its governance order as a group of "areas" with self-government.[44][45][46] These territories are not usually regarded as sovereign, as they do not fulfill the criteria set out by the declarative theory of statehood (for example, their current laws do not allow them to engage independently in relations with other states). Several state functions of these territories (such as foreign affairs and defence) are performed by Pakistan.[45][47][48]

The State of Palestine, declared in 1988, is not recognized as a state by Israel and has received diplomatic recognition from 137 states.[49] The proclaimed state has no agreed territorial borders, or effective control over much of the territory that it proclaimed.[50] The Palestinian National Authority is an interim administrative body formed as a result of the Oslo Accords that exercises limited autonomous jurisdiction within the Palestinian territories. In foreign relations, Palestine is represented by the Palestine Liberation Organization.[51] The State of Palestine is a member state of UNESCO,[52] UNIDO, and an observer state in the UN.

Russia is officially a federation of 85 federal subjects (republics, oblasts, krais, autonomous okrugs, federal cities, and an autonomous oblast). Several of the federal subjects are ethnic republics.[f] Russia also forms the Union State jointly with Belarus.

Administered by the Holy See, a sovereign entity with diplomatic ties to 183 states – 180 UN member states, one UN observer state (Palestine), the Cook Islands and the Republic of China (Taiwan).[55] The Holy See is a member of the IAEA, ITU, UPU, and WIPO and a permanent observer of the UN (in the category of "Non-member State")[51] and multiple other UN System organizations. The Vatican City is governed by officials appointed by the Pope, who is the Bishop of the Diocese of Rome and ex officio sovereign of Vatican City.

A state competing (nominally) for recognition with the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the government of China since 1949. The Republic of China (ROC) controls the island of Taiwan and associated islands, Quemoy, Matsu, the Pratas and parts of the Spratly Islands,[ad] and has not renounced claims over its annexed territories on the mainland.[72] The ROC is recognised by 16 UN member states and the Holy See as of 21 August 2018. All these states do not recognise the PRC either. Additionally, one UN member (Bhutan) has refrained from recognising either the ROC or the PRC.

Criteria for inclusion

The dominant customary international law standard of statehood is the declarative theory of statehood, which was codified by the Montevideo Convention of 1933. The Convention defines the state as a person of international law if it "possess[es] the following qualifications: (a) a permanent population; (b) a defined territory; (c) government; and (d) a capacity to enter into relations with the other states" so long as it was not "obtained by force whether this consists in the employment of arms, in threatening diplomatic representations, or in any other effective coercive measure".[74][improper synthesis?]

Debate exists on the degree to which recognition should be included as a criterion of statehood. The declarative theory of statehood argues that statehood is purely objective and recognition of a state by other states is irrelevant. On the other end of the spectrum, the constitutive theory of statehood defines a state as a person under international law only if it is recognised as sovereign by other states. For the purposes of this list, included are all states that either:

(a) consider themselves sovereign (through a declaration of independence or some other means) and are often regarded as satisfying the declarative theory of statehood, or

Note that in some cases, there is a divergence of opinion over the interpretation of the first point, and whether an entity satisfies it is disputed. Unique political entities which fail to meet the classification of a sovereign state are considered proto-states.[75][76]

On the basis of the above criteria, this list includes the following 206 entities:[77][ae]

Two states that satisfy the declarative theory of statehood and are recognised only by non-UN member states: Artsakh, Transnistria

One state that satisfies the declarative theory of statehood and is not recognised by any other state: Somaliland

The table includes bullets representing entities which are either not sovereign states or have a close association to another sovereign state. It also includes subnational areas where the sovereignty of the titular state is limited by an international agreement. Taken together, these include:

^The Argentine Constitution (Art. 35) recognises the following denominations for Argentina: "United Provinces of the Río de la Plata", "Argentine Republic" and "Argentine Confederation"; furthermore, it establishes the usage of "Argentine Nation" for purposes of legislation.

^A simpler official short name has been encouraged by the Czech government, "Czechia". By 2017, this variant remains uncommon. Nevertheless, this term has been adopted by several companies and organisations, including Google Maps, instead of the term "Czech Republic". See Name of the Czech Republic

^The government of East Timor uses "Timor-Leste" as the English translation.

^Formerly referred to as the Kingdom of Swaziland, its official name until 2018.

^Åland was demilitarised by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, which was later affirmed by the League of Nations in 1921, and in a somewhat different context reaffirmed in the treaty on Finland's admission to the European Union in 1995.

^While sometimes referred to as the "Republic of Iceland"[21][22] and sometimes its counterpart Lýðveldið Ísland in Icelandic, the official name of the country is simply Iceland.[23] One example of the former is the name of the Constitution of Iceland, which in Icelandic is Stjórnarskrá lýðveldisins Íslands and literally means "the Constitution of the republic of Iceland", but note that "republic" is not capitalized.

^"Ireland" is the official name in English. "Republic of Ireland" (the official description in English) and "Éire" (the official name in Irish) have sometimes been used unofficially to distinguish the state from the larger island of Ireland; this is officially deprecated.[25] See names of the Irish state.

^The government of Ivory Coast uses "Côte d'Ivoire" as the English translation

^Andreas S. Kakouris (9 July 2010). "Cyprus is not at peace with Turkey". CNN. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014. Turkey stands alone in violation of the will of the international community. It is the only country to recognize the "TRNC" and is the only country that does not recognize the Republic of Cyprus and its government.

^Daly, Mary E. (January 2007). "The Irish Free State/Éire/Republic of Ireland/Ireland: "A Country by Any Other Name"?". Journal of British Studies. Cambridge University Press on behalf of The North American Conference on British Studies. 46 (1): 72–90. doi:10.1086/508399. JSTOR10.1086/508399.

Mendes, Errol (30 March 2010). "Statehood and Palestine for the purposes of Article 12 (3) of the ICC Statute"(PDF). 30 March 2010: 28, 33. Archived(PDF) from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 17 April 2011: "...the Palestinian State also meets the traditional criteria under the Montevideo Convention..."; "...the fact that a majority of states have recognised Palestine as a State should easily fulfill the requisite state practice".

McDonald, Avril (Spring 2009). "Operation Cast Lead: Drawing the Battle Lines of the Legal Dispute". Human Rights Brief. Washington College of Law, Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law. 25. Archived from the original on 29 March 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2011: "Whether one applies the criteria of statehood set out in the Montevideo Convention or the more widely accepted constitutive theory of statehood, Palestine might be considered a state."

^Griffiths, Ryan (2016). Age of Secession: The International and Domestic Determinants of State Birth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 85, 213–242. ISBN978-1107161627.

^The following bullets are grouped according to the availability of sources for the two criteria ((a) and/or (b)). This arrangement is not intended to reflect the relative importance of the two theories. Additional details are discussed in the state's individual entries.